Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a casual visitor to campus: up to two were present 05-25 Nov 2012 and one was seen 07-29 Feb 2016. It is an uncommon, year-round breeding resident in the mountains of southern California, and is rare and irregular elsewhere in the fall and winter.

Red-breasted Nuthatches can be identified by their black crown and eye line, white supercilium (eyebrow) and throat, blue-gray upperparts, and red-orange underparts (males brighter than females). They forage by crawling down trunks and larger branches of trees. Red-breasted Nuthatches are often first detected by hearing their repetitive, drawn-out, nasal 'yank' calls.